The Edge Of Paradise
Kit Chan
Home-grown singer Kit Chan used to be known for her emotive ballads, in which she would swing for the high notes. Hits such as Heartache and Dazzle made her a star.
She no longer feels a need to engage in vocal dramatics for the sake of doing so. Instead, her voice seems more tender and sensitive in The Edge Of Paradise, her first album of original songs since 2004’s East Towards Saturn.
Perhaps the title track comes closest to the feel of her earlier works, but even then, the effect is more ethereal than forceful when her voice climbs the scale.
There is a laidback ease to her singing on the quietly insistent There’s Been You In My Life and the gentle yet compelling Sudden Rain.
Chan has fun on the playfully jazzy number Don’t Ask Me Why I Love You, composed by singer-songwriter Jimmy Ye. And she pulls off a neat trick by making this seem like a new song with a different arrangement and Cantonese lyrics by the feted Lin Xi on A Missed Opportunity Is Not A Crime.
This is what a Kit Chan album sounds like now.
As she croons on the slow-burn track Spellbound: “My heart has long melted, my love is so passionate.” There is no need for her to showboat, the emotions come through loud and clear.
(ST)